


Ready to succumb

by fangirlingacrosstheuniverse



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: Cynical Eleanor, Eleanor is sad and needs a hug, F/M, Michael is still evil, Morally Grey Eleanor, Yuletide 2019, dark michael, definite angst, dubcon, dubcon in that one of them is a manipulative demon and one of them is Michael, neither of them are particularly nice people in this one, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:34:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21846757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlingacrosstheuniverse/pseuds/fangirlingacrosstheuniverse
Summary: Eleanor has a new plan to distract Michael from the problems in the neighbourhood.Seduction; the oldest trick in the book.But is it really as successful as it seems?
Relationships: Michael (The Good Place)/Eleanor Shellstrop
Comments: 10
Kudos: 71
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Ready to succumb

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dissembler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dissembler/gifts).



“No, no I’ve had enough distractions. Not that I haven’t had fun, learning how humans relax- and your species really is fascinating, by the way- but we need to get to the bottom of the problems in this neighbourhood.”  
They’re standing in Michael’s office, and Eleanor is running on borrowed time.  
She needs a way to distract Michael, and fast. 

For all his silly quirks- suspenders, frozen yoghurt, paperclips- he can be alarmingly prescient, and he'll figure her out if he spends too much time considering the problem. 

An idea strikes her. It always worked when she needed to distract her boyfriends on Earth, and he is, more or less, a man.  
She eyes him, and he squirms a little under her gaze. Probably a man, she decides. He looks flustered.  
She's glad. Anything to keep him off guard... for the sake of helping him relax, of course. 

"You know," she says, striving for a casual tone. She tries to slip into the mindset she had so easily on Earth of casual sex. Breaking rules, having sex with authority figures- that's Eleanor Shellstrop all over. She slept with every boss she ever had. One time, she’d even slept with her boyfriend's boss, in return for him promoting her boyfriend.  
God that guy was a dick; he bundled her out of his house at 1am, and he ended up not giving her boyfriend the promotion anyway. But somehow it's different with Michael.  
Harder to switch off. 

Alright then; if she can't switch off, time to switch on. She dials up the seduction. A predatory smirk spreads across her face and to her gratification Michael gulps slightly. 

"There is one human relaxation technique we haven't tried."  
Michael backs up until he bumps into his desk, fidgeting with his bowtie.  
The small voice of her conscience pops up. Is it wrong to seduce an angel, or whatever Michael is? 

She knows what Chidi would say. 

But she ignores the voice with the ease of long practice. 

She slinks closer, until they're standing nose to nose. He squirms a little, but otherwise stays where he is, squished up against his own desk. Her hand slides to his waistband, where she fumbles at the clasp on his belt. Stupid Michael with his multi layered clothing. After a moment of panic- does Michael even have genitals? She’s relieved to find a familiar hardness as she opens the belt buckle. She wraps her hand around it, and he jumps a little, only succeeding in bucking up into her hand. The friction makes him hiss, and stand up on his toes, half leaning on the desk.  
“Eleanor,” he gasps, and she has to admire his restraint. In her experience most men are barely coherent at this stage. Then again, being… whatever Michael is… has to have some benefits. 

“Should we really be doing this? I know humans have all sorts of rituals and hang ups around this sort of behaviour.”  
The words themselves are rational, but the effect is somewhat ruined by the fact that he’s panting and thrusting into her hand. She slides her hand around his (conveniently human) dick, curling her fingers upwards in the way that drove her last boyfriend crazy. The good kind of crazy, that is. Before he went actually crazy and got arrested for selling drugs hidden in the lining of panties.  
Michael proves that some things are universal, even for heavenly beings or Architects or whatever he calls himself.  
He’s thrusting into her grip now, his pace frantic. When he comes, she feels his entire body shake under hers.

She’s a little concerned about his reaction, afterwards, and tucks her head onto his shoulder to avoid meeting his eyes. The moment after sex has always been her least favourite part, when the afterglow fades and regret sinks in. After a moment complete silence, he lets out a sigh and lifts her chin from his shoulder. HIs expression is inscrutable, and she feels her heart sink. Just what, exactly, has she just done? If she was already destined for the Bad Place, how much worse must it be now?

His expressions softens, and her thoughts come to a still as he leans forwards off the desk and touches his lips to hers. It’s very brief, but she feels herself relax, and in the next moment he’s easing her down onto the soft rug beneath her feet. 

Now I know why Tahani calls it a shag rug, she thinks, slightly giddy with lust.  
“Human tradition states I must reciprocate, or be declared a tease.” He says excitedly, as he always does when talking about the minutiae of human life, and she isn’t inclined to argue.

He starts off on this new mission of learning her body like regular old Michael, overly eager and bouncy like an oversized puppy in a nice suit. But as her clothing drops off, and she feels the heat rising between them, he seems to drop some... extra part of his personality, like a coat that doesn't quite fit anymore. 

He nips his way down her body, flashing just a little more than a hint of teeth along her collarbone, skirting her nipples, pausing to lave before almost biting... her hips arch up to meet his as he moves further down her body. His movements become more practiced, and he grows bold. He grazes his teeth on her hip, and she can’t help but moan. She’s always liked it a bit rough; a preference which doesn’t always mix well with her awful taste in men. Honestly, Michael, a literal heavenly being she’s now apparently corrupted, is probably the best of a bad bunch. That says a lot about her life (and afterlife). 

Unaware of her thoughts, he continues his path down her body, he redoubles his efforts at the sound of her moan, nips of teeth growing harsher until suddenly, amazingly, his mouth is on her. She’s so wet already, and he makes it worse as he flicks his tongue over her clit, them goes back to making small circles around it. Her fingers tangle in his hair as he repeats this move a few times, and her arousal waxes and wanes with it, increasing almost to the peak then stopping as he changes the pattern. Right when she thinks she can’t stand it anymore, the same moment as a particularly powerful tongue flick, he reaches up and pinches her nipple slightly. The added pressure is enough to send her over the edge, and she arches under him with a bitten off scream. 

Small aftershocks, like lightning, run through her body, making her body twitch and shake, like a wind up instrument that's been wound up too far. It seems to go on forever, but eventually she comes back to herself and realises their position. She’s lying under him, panties bunched around her ankles, and he’s still mostly dressed. The contrast between her almost nudity and his full suit feels awkward, and she looks around for something to cover herself. 

It’s not fair that he looks so immaculate as he stands up and pats his slightly rumpled hair down. He clears his throat, preparing to say something. She recognises that look; it’s the embarrassed face of someone who just went further than they were planning, and is now desperately backpedalling. Any second now, he’ll make some excuse and rush off. 

As if on cue, he glances nervously at the door. Under her expectant gaze, he mutters an awkward excuse and escapes out the door.  
She flops back down on the rug and groans. The afterglow is well and truly gone, and she feels uncomfortably hot and sticky. The rug under her now feels uncomfortable, and she’s reminded of the solid floor underneath. The plushness adds to her discomfort, making her feel more sweaty.  
Ugh. Some version of heaven this is turning out to be. 

She looks around at the decor and is reminded uncomfortably of her high school Principal’s office waiting room. She’d spent way too much time in that office as a teenager, pretending to listen to the teacher’s lecture while wishing she was somewhere, anywhere else.  
As she idly studies the wallpaper, a thought occurs to her. This idea has been hiding in the back of her mind; first an idle suspicion, then a second coincidence that was just too well timed, then another one, then another one, all stored away in her subconscious until the right time. And now it’s finally come to her conscious attention. She flops back down on the rug like a puppet whose strings have been cut.

Her mind races and her stomach churns as a million tiny things click into place. The 'soulmate' squabbles, the terror of being discovered, Chidi's constant stomach ache... it makes a horrible sort of sense. She wishes she could turn off her mind, but it keeps going, bringing her closer to the inevitable conclusion. 

Of course, her mind says.  
Of course this is the Bad Place. All the fighting and arguing, all her insecurities smacking her in the face every day. Tahani, Chidi, Jason, the overly nice and successful people in the neighbourhood. All of it her, Eleanor's, worst nightmare. Every time she found herself happy, some new activity or another popped up and ruined it. When things were going well, she could count on Michael popping up and announcing some disaster or another. 

Michael.

If this is the Bad Place, if she’s right… What is he? Her thoughts race. Everything Michael has done since she got there- her house, flying day, sending Bart and Nina to stay with her and Chidi… can it really have all been with the express purpose of making her miserable? She can believe that all too easily. Her mind continues running, going over everything that’s made her feel insecure, or angry, or scared, or frustrated since she arrived. And… the list is much, much longer than the times she’s been happy or even just content. 

She rolls over onto her side as a tear runs down her face silently. She wipes it away furiously. Fine. If this forked up afterlife is what she has, then so be it.  
The chips have always been stacked against her, but she’s never let that stop her before. If she’s in the Bad Place despite all her ethics classes, and trying to be better… well. At least there’s no physical torture involved. This isn’t so bad. 

And after all, the small voice in her mind whispers. This is what you deserve. You died young and unaccomplished, and you didn’t get into heaven.  
So be it. This may not be the afterlife she wanted, but she can’t argue it’s the afterlife she deserves.  
\----  
Unbeknownst to Eleanor, Michael stands on the other side of the door watching events unfold on a screen helpfully provided by Janet. Eleanor seems startled by his sudden exit, then cries a little, and finally seems resigned. Good; low grade misery will breed complacency. If she blames herself, she won’t go looking for answers elsewhere or behave unpredictably. He pats himself on the back, proud of a job well done.

**Author's Note:**

> For the Yuletide 2019 Fic Exchange, written for dissemblr, for the prompt of 'badwrong series one smut', preferably in third person present tense. This was my initial response to that prompt, hope you like it. I went back and forth a lot over the ending, and I may end up coming back at some point and adding another chapter/ alternate ending. Thanks for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed it :)  
> I really did try to switch on the angst for this one, so please let me know how that went.  
> Oh, and the title is from the song the Next Step from the Frozen 2 soundtrack, because Kristen Bell plays both Anna and Eleanor, and because I felt like it.  
> And please let me know if I need to update tags; I feel like parts of this are sort of the line between dubcon and noncon. Both characters consent, but for their own reasons.  
> And for anyone interested;
> 
> Possible Ending 2:  
> She rolls back towards Michael, and taps him on the shoulder.  
> “I know this is the Bad Place,” she says. She watches Michael's face go through a number of emotions- denial, frustration, anger. It occurs to her she should have been more concerned about the reaction of the Devil, or whatever Michael actually is, but before he can land on a solution to the Problem of Eleanor, she speaks again.  
> “I want to help you.”  
> “You’re torturing the others, aren’t you? Jason, and Tahani, and Chidi? Let me help.”


End file.
